This invention relates to document storage and retrieval systems in general, and in particular to an improved document storage and retrieval system with heightened security against unauthorized access and retrieval of documents stored in the system (e.g. “hacking”).
Document storage and retrieval systems are well-known and widely deployed throughout various industries for document management purposes. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical system in use today. As seen in this Fig., a host computer 10 is operatively coupled to a mass storage device 12, in which documents registered in the system are stored in electronic form. Host computer 10 responds to commands issued by an operator using a standard keyboard device 13 by accessing documents specified by keyboard device 13 from mass storage device 12. Once accessed, a document can be viewed on a display (not illustrated), printed out as hard copy by a printer (not illustrated), or transferred to some other location. The documents stored in mass storage device 12 are typically arranged in virtual document folders-such as folder 15 and each document in a given folder 15 is assigned a file designation-such as files 11, 12 . . . , 1n, 21, . . . 2n, . . . , m1, . . . , mn. To access a specific document, the operator enters a document identifier using keyboard device 13, host computer 10 uses the document identifier to find the document folder 15 in which the document resides, and retrieves the file corresponding to the specified document for further processing, such as editing, copying or printing.
Some documents in the system shown in FIG. 1 may be purely electronic—i.e. no corresponding physical version of the document exists. Examples of purely electronic documents are e-mail messages and attachments thereto, office memorandums and the like. Other documents may have both electronic versions and physical versions. Examples of this type of document are deeds to real property, legal court decisions and the like. For this latter type, the electronic version is stored in mass storage device 12 while the physical version is stored in a storage unit, which is typically a file cabinet 17-1, . . . , 17X having one or more drawers in which file folders 11, . . . , 1n, . . . , m1, . . . , mn are removably suspended on support rails. The individual physical versions of the documents are received in the file folders and are capable of being manually removed from their respective file folders. Each file cabinet is provided with a microcontroller unit (Cabinet MCU) containing a unique identification code character serving to uniquely identify that cabinet in the system. Communication between host computer 10 and the various storage units is via a hard wire connection 18 or via wireless devices (not illustrated).
To facilitate access to the cabinet and drawer location of the physical version of a document, the file folders are provided with electronic elements shown in FIG. 2 which enable communication between host computer 10 and the file folders. As seen in this Fig., each file folder 20 has a support brace 21 attached to the upper margin of the main body portion of file folder 20. Support brace 21 is formed from an electrically non-conductive material-such as printed circuit board material- and carries a folder Microcontroller unit 22 (MCU 22), a power LED 23 and an Indicate LED 24, both of which are electrically coupled to and controlled by MCU 22. Support brace 20 has a pair of inverted notches 26, 27 at opposite ends which are dimensioned to receive the cabinet drawer support rails (not illustrated). Each notch 26, 27 is provided with a pair of electrically conductive springs (springs 28, 29 for notch 26; springs 30, 31 for notch 27) which mate with corresponding electrical conductors carried by the drawer support rails (not illustrated) when the folder 20 is properly installed in a cabinet drawer. The electrical conductors carried by the drawer support rails are coupled to host computer 10. Springs 28, 29 are electrically coupled to MCU 22 by conductive paths 33 formed on support brace 21, while springs 30, 31 are electrically coupled to MCU 22 by conductive paths 34 formed on support brace 21. MCU 22 contains a unique identification code character serving to uniquely identify the file folder 20 which contains the MCU 22.
The process of locating the physical version of a document is illustrated in FIG. 3. As seen in this Fig., the user gains access to their user account by entering a user name and password into host computer 10 using keyboard device 13 (step 39a). Once access is gained the user enters the title or other keywords of the document sought. The host computer 10 uses this information to locate in mass storage device 12 the corresponding virtual folder in which the electronic version of the document is stored (step 39b). The virtual folder contains the identification code character of the corresponding physical folder 20 (step 39c). Host computer 10 uses this identification code character to determine the cabinet and drawer in which the physical folder 20 is located by consulting a table of folder locations (step 39d). Once the location of the physical folder 20 is determined, host computer 10 sends the folder identification code character to the destination cabinet and drawer (step 39e), and the code character is conveyed to MCU 22 of physical file folder 20. When MCU 22 receives the code character, it activates the Indicate LED 24, which visually alerts the user of the file folder 20 containing the sought document (step 390. The user then removes the found folder 20 and locates the physical version of the sought document (step 39g). To aid the user further, each cabinet drawer is provided with an LED mounted on the front panel, which is activated when the cabinet receives the code character to provide a visual indication of the drawer to open (step 39h). In addition, each cabinet drawer is preferably provided with a drawer lock which is released when the code character is received by the cabinet (step 39i).
While the known system described above has been proven to be highly useful in document management applications for efficiently storing and retrieving electronic versions of documents and their physical versions, it suffers from one significant disadvantage-viz., vulnerability to unauthorized access to the electronic versions of all documents stored in mass storage device 12 (i.e. “hacking into the system”). While there are numerous contemporary examples of such unauthorized intrusions resulting in the compromise of confidential information contained in such documents, efforts to date to ensure the security of known document storage and retrieval systems have not met with success.